Naya Rivera
' Naya Marie Rivera is an actress who currently portrays the role of Santana Lopez on FOX's hit TV Show, Glee. She was born in Santa Clarita, California on January 12, 1987. Naya has confirmed she is returning for Season 4. Early and Personal Life Naya, who has lived in the Los Angeles area was born and raised in Valencia, California, modeled and acted throughout her childhood. As a baby, Rivera appeared in commercials for Kmart, but her first significant acting job was at the age of four when she starred as Hillary Winston in the Eddie Murphy produced sitcom ''The Royal Family in 1991.[1] Between 1992 and 2002, she had small roles in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Family Matters, Live Shot, Baywatch, Smart Guy, House Blend, Even Stevens and The Master of Disguise. In 2002 she also appeared in the music video for B2K's "Why I Love You". She was hired for a single-episode guest appearance on The Bernie Mac Show in 2002, but was brought back to work on a further five episodes. She was later featured in single episodes of 8 Simple Rules and CSI: Miami. In 2009, Rivera was cast as Cheerios cheerleading squad member Santana Lopez on Fox's musical comedy series Glee, about a high school glee club. Rivera's character comes off as a cold-hearted and vicious cheerleader, who often shows her softer side to fellow cheerleader Brittany (played by Heather Morris). Rivera auditioned for the opportunity "to sing, dance and act all in the same show," and because she was a fan of co-creator Ryan Murphy's previous work on Nip/Tuck. Rivera drew on her own high school experience of unpopularity to prepare for the role, as well as watching films such as Mean Girls to "really get in the zone and feel like a bitchy Sophomore". She has described Santana as "your typical high school cheerleader, for the most part," explaining: "She's really mean and loves boys. She's really witty so I love playing her." She has characterized Santana as "a bit of a bad girl" who is "really snarky and always has these really witty one-liners she throws out there." Rivera enjoys the fact Santana is competitive and headstrong as she herself shares those traits, but dislikes Santana's mean streak. She finds the show's pacing challenging, especially the dancing, and commented in June 2009 that her most memorable moment on Glee was performing the Cheerios' glee club audition piece, "I Say a Little Prayer". Santana played a more prominent part in the last nine episodes of Glee's first season. Rivera commented: "Santana's been wreaking havoc with people's boyfriends and people's babies and teachers—she's the high school terror, and she's going to continue to be the villain." In 2010 Rivera made the Maxim Hot 100 list, coming in at number 61 and in 2011 she got named 43. She also made the Afterellen Hot 100 list in 2010, 2011, and 2012, premiering at 62 in 2010, jumping to 1 in 2011 and still at number 1 once again in 2012. Naya Rivera hosted the 22nd GLAAD Media Awards in San Francisco. In July 2011, Rivera was nominated for two awards, in the categories of "Favorite Female Music Artist" and "Favorite TV Actress - Leading Role in a Comedy". BuddyTV ranked her #3 on its "TV's 100 Sexiest Women of 2011" list. She received a great amount of critical praise for both her acting and her singing performances in the latter part of Season Two and the beginning of Season Three. As 2011 ended, she or her character were on many "Best Of" lists, including HitFix.com's 25 Breakout Stars of 2011, TV Guide's Best Performances of 2011, MTV's Best TV Characters of 2011, Yahoo!'s Television Without Pity 2011 TV's Most Valuable Performers, as well as others. Naya was on the Cover of 2011 November issue of FHM magazine in US, UK and Australia. She is now the Spokesperson of Proactiv Solution. She also appeared in 'The Glee Project' season 2 as a mentor in Sexuality episode Source Filmography Awards and nominations External links *Twitter *Naya Rivera on IMDB http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0729369/ *NayaRivera.net http://nayarivera.net Quotes *''(on her favorite moment of Season 2) “I loved what the fans having lovingly dubbed “The Hurt Locker” – when Santana confessed her love for Brittany. It was the first time, as an actor, I saw the fruits of my labor. I was so prepared for that scene and in my heart, I was happy with the work I did. And to be so proud of something you did is the best feeling, no matter the profession.” *"My heart is a Slushee full of love and I want to toss it all over you." *"Getting hit on by both genders is such a champagne problem." *"My voice is kind of like Aaliyah-esque, with a little bit more range. Normally, I sing pop, R&B-type stuff. *senior year quote'' "We need a Starbucks on Campus. Love and always forever." *"My passion for music is one of my greatest loves. I don’t think I would be able to live without music in my life. I listen to absolutely everything and sing all the time. I love to write because it’s such a release. It’s very therapeutic when I sing and it makes me feel like I’m escaping for a while. I started singing when I was three. My favorite things to perform for my family was Paula Abdul and Michael Jackson’s leave me alone. I had a little kid piano that my dad would play notes on while I made up lyrics and sang along. I love how different songs can make you feel different things and take you to different memories in your life." Trivia *Her vital statistic is 34-22-32 *Her nicknames are Bee, NayNay, Nay Nay Rivers, Na Nay, Little Bee, and The Veiled Fairy *If she were not an actress, she would be a writer. *She doesn't like to throw things out. *Had a crush on Robin Thicke *She likes sushi and Mexican food. *She hates papercuts, and she always thinks of getting one on her eye when she thinks of them. *She likes to wear her make-up natural. *She does planks and side planks to keep her stomach toned. *She wears MAC and Rimmel make-up. *She is best friends with her co-star Heather Morris. *There were rumors that she trashed Mark Salling's car (as he had been talking to other girls when they had a "thing"), but these rumors are not confirmed and Mark denied them on Twitter. *﻿Naya is half Puerto-Rican, 1/4 African-American and 1/4 German. *Rivera loves to read and is a fan of "Nip/Tuck". *She would take her false lashes and her hair extensions to an uninhabited island. *When she's tired, she doesn't talk, but mumbles. *Her first concert was No Doubt. *She's a very good impersonator and her co-stars enjoy it. *When she is bored she will drive somewhere, but always take the longest route. *On Valentine's Day, she and her friends would sit in the car, listen to Dashboard Confessional and cry. * She hopes to make films one day and has written several screen plays. *Her favorite TV shows are Nip/Tuck, Grey’s Anatomy, and House. *She is left-handed. *She has tried to pay a taxi cab ride only in pennies. *She has one brother and one sister. *She has six tattoos ("love" in Hebrew on her right wrist, a peace sign on her left ankle, a cross on her lower back, a shooting star on her right foot, and a ribbon on her nape and a unknown one mentioned in FHM). *The tattoo on her right wrist is commonly mistaken for the word 'Fighter'. *She is a fan of the Hunger Games Trilogy and she would like to play Johanna in the second installment of the Hunger Games films. *She watches Pretty Little Liars. * She invented a dance that can be seen on YouTube called "The Naya Dance". * Was number 1 on the AfterEllen hot 100 list for 2011. * Is 5'5" (165 cm) * She is not fluent in Spanish, stated in a livestream, but she was apparently drunk and/or joking since Amber said, "No you don't, you're a liar." (She really was drunk during the livestream though.) * Wears contacts. * Got a record deal. * Has had 3 women propose to her due to her lesbian storyline. * She's contralto, and has a 2.6 octave range. Her vocal range is C3-Bb5 as seen on a youtube video. * Is a supporter of the San Jose Sharks as seen in a photo from Dianna Agron's Tumblr where both are seen wearing Sharks jerseys. * For the July 2 show, Naya changed her shirt from "Lebanese" to "Lebanese for Irish Girls" because they were in Ireland. * On July 3rd, Naya quickly kissed co-star Heather Morris on the lips on their last stop of the Glee European tour in Dublin, Ireland. * Was seen smoking on a break from filming in New York. This is the only time she's been caught. * Is a huge Amy Winehouse fan and Valerie is her second favorite song ever. * Auditioned for Glee with the song Emotion from the Bee Gees. * Wanted Santana to get a girlfriend and come out. * Starred in the music video "Why I Love You" by B2K * Played a prank on the cast by using her extra phone to send mystery texts to the cast and signing them with xoxo -A, like in Pretty Little Liars. * Was voted by the cast to be the most likely to join the cast of Jersey Shore. * She worked at Hooters. * Is the only left-handed cast member. * Favorite animal is the mouse. * Her all-time favorite song is 'A Song For You' by Donny Hathaway. * Her favorite childhood show was Boy Meets World or Doug. * Her favorite accessory is a nice watch. * In January 2011 Rivera appeared in a parody of Nuthin' but a G'Thang, called "Nuthin' But a Glee Thang", co-written by her friend Heather Morris. * In May of 2011, it was announced that Rivera had signed a deal with Columbia Records to produce a solo album. * In May, Rivera hosted the San Francisco GLAAD Media Awards. * She took up songwriting at the age of 15. * When she was 17, she was a fan of Paris Hilton and watched "The Simple Life". She also bought the same dog as Paris. * In 2010, Rivera made the Maxim Hot 100 list, coming in at number 61. The following year, she was ranked number 43. * Has a brother named Mychal, who's a football player, and a sister named Nickayla, who's a model. Mychal's 21 and Nickayla's 17. * Won Favorite Female Artist at the 2011 ALMA awards * Believes in God. * Is named after a mermaid on the 1970s TV show Fantasy Island * Has a Mac. * Cover of the November 2011 issue of FHM in USA, UK, Spain and Canada * In the Elle Magazine together with Heather Morris, Dianna Agron, Lea Michele and Jayma Mays * Has been to Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch twice as a child. Source * Her nickname for Kevin McHale is Little B. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YHTHEtjgl0 * Stated that if she could do any tribute episode it would be to Michael Jackson. * Her favorite color is pink. * Her favourite band is Coldplay. * She prefers red wine to white wine. * She prefers pancakes to waffles. * Has an iPhone 4 or 4S * Worked at Abercrombie as a greeter and was very flattered, knowing they only hire people based on looks.. * Had a Maltese named Callie, but then gave it to her mom when she pooped in her car. * She took computer class in high school but hated it. * Has been acting since the age of 4. * Is reportedly dating glee co-writer. * Was not popular in high school. * Named her SAG award Alejandro. * Hosted the 2012 GLAAD Media Awards, along with co-star, Cory Monteith. * Won the ''Cause You're Hot''' award at the 2012 NewNowNext Awards. * Her parents have been divorced about 8 years. * She has an Girl Crush on Coco. Source * Cover of the Latina Magazine May Issue. * A video of her taking part in a pole dancing competiton was leaked by Perez Hilton. * Is number 39 in ''FHM's 100 Sexiest Women In The World 2012. Source * Is number 27 in Maxim's Hot 100. Source * Is a high contralto - low mezzo-soprano. * Finds beatboxing sexy. * Is for the second time in a row number 1 on AfterEllen's Hot 100 (2011 and 2012). * Favorite animal is the penguin. Category:Actors